It’s possible Backstrom made the jump to Belarus with an eye on Minnesota’s other goalie, Josh Harding.

Expected to test free agent waters and find a team with a No. 1 gig available, Harding instead chose to re-sign with the Wild this summer on a three-year, $5.7 million dollar deal — presumably to challenge for the starting job.

So, easy to understand why Backstrom wants to stay sharp.

As for the club that signed him — Minsk made waves earlier this summer by securing the services of former Jets forward Tim Stapleton. The 30-year-old forward surprised some by jumping to the KHL after an impressive 2011-12 campaign with Winnipeg, one where he posted career highs in goals (11), assists (16) and points (27).

Update: Mike Russo of the Star-Tribune notes that Backstrom still hasn’t officially inked with Minsk because of insurance/visa issues. That said, Backstrom says signing with the team “is pretty far along.”

Do you have to watch via Xbox or can one watch on their laptop? I have a Xbox 360 but don’t feel like re-upping my Gold subscription haha.

blomfeld - Sep 19, 2012 at 1:06 AM

Enjoy “красивый Минск” Pal !

No surprise here, given the fact that we’re talking about a Swede !. Nonetheless, it is possible that Backstrom’s doing this to earn some extra cash in-order to help pay for Suter and Parise’s hideous “AIG” sized” contracts ?